I’ve been following the Trump administration’s freeze on all spending for global health, including PEPFAR, which was until very recently a bipartisan success story. Here’s my recent reporting for NPR.

Trump pauses funding for anti-HIV program that prevented 26 million AIDS deaths

Nearly all global health funding from the U.S. has been halted immediately by the Trump administration — and that appears to include PEPFAR, the widely praised program created by President George W. Bush in 2003 to prevent HIV/AIDS.

With its $6.5 billion annual budget, PEPFAR — the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — provides HIV/AIDS medications for over 20.6 million people, keeping patients alive and preventing them from transmitting the virus. It also offers testing and education on HIV/AIDS. According to the State Department, PEPFAR has saved the lives of an estimated 26 million people since its inception. Read more at NPR.

Trump’s ‘stop-work’ order for PEPFAR cuts off anti-HIV drugs for patients

Engage Men’s Health, a nonprofit organization in South Africa, offers testing and medications to prevent and manage HIV at three clinics throughout the country — all for free.

That is, they did until Monday. That’s when the clinic, which has been funded by the U.S. initiative PEPFAR, says it received orders from the U.S. government to stop all work immediately. It is now closed until further notice, according to notices on its website and social media. Read more at NPR.

Trump’s freezing of foreign aid halts distribution of AIDS meds to clinics worldwide

NPR reporter: “Big organizations that partner with the U.S. on HIV/AIDS, as well as NGOs and clinics working in countries where the disease is common, they have all received orders from the U.S. to stop work immediately. Now, Atul Gawande confirmed this as well. He was an assistant administrator in Global Health during the Biden presidency. He told Melody Schreiber, a freelance journalist who contributed to our reporting on this, that clinics have “stopped distributing medications,” and PEPFAR’s central information systems were shut down.

“The Trump administration says the freeze will be in effect for about three months. Now, late last night, the State Department added a waiver to that freeze and a memo that was obtained by NPR. The waiver allows money to continue flowing for core life-saving medications. But it’s unclear what that means and if AIDS drugs would be included. So there’s more to know on this.” Listen on NPR’s Morning Edition.

What is happening with PEPFAR? It depends on whom you ask

A memo regarding HIV treatment and prevention, issued by the State Department on February 6, offers a stark illustration of the impact of the Trump administration on global health.

The memo comes in the wake of two major announcements from the Trump administration that have sent shockwaves through the global health community.

First there was the 90-day freeze on virtually all programs run by USAID, the U.S. foreign aid agency that oversees PEPFAR, on Jan. 24. Most other forms of foreign assistance were also halted.

Then, nearly all USAID staff was laid off or furloughed. Read more at NPR.